


Thanks for the Care Package

by Unironicdokis



Series: In Every Scenario [1]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, fun home au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-25
Updated: 2016-04-25
Packaged: 2018-06-04 12:04:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6657067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unironicdokis/pseuds/Unironicdokis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dear Mom and Dad. Thanks for the care package. I was running out of granola bars so it came just in the nick of time... Nothing else worth writing home about.<br/>- Jemmy</p><p>A sort-of prequel to Changing My Major</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thanks for the Care Package

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sort-of prequel to Changing My Major. I'll probably do one more that takes place in between this one and Changing my Major to explain how they went from near-strangers to best friends. I'm also a derivative hack so a large amount of the dialogue is exactly like "Thanks for the Care Package..." in Fun Home. I just love Allison's gay awakening story, it felt so James to me, so I had to do it.

_Dear Mom and Dad. Thanks for the care package. I was running out of granola bars so it came just in the nick of time... Nothing else worth writing home about._  
_\- Jemmy_

Upon hearing a knock, James opened the door to see Thomas waiting expectantly in the hall.

"Hi," said James in his surprise, mind going distressingly blank under pressure.

He could finish the letter later.

"Hey." Thomas sauntered past him, inviting himself into James' dorm room.

"Come on in," added James awkwardly.

He waited for Thomas to sit down or say something, anything, but he just stood there in he middle of his room, messenger back dangling from his shoulder, looking better than any person had a right to look.

"Can I help you?" asked James.

He shrugged. "I was looking for Lafayette, but I guess he's not here."

James shook his head.

Thomas sighed. "I missed the last lecture for Political Science 15. He was supposed to help me study."

"Oh! You have that class, too? Well, if you missed the last the Poli Sci lecture I could lend you my notes."

Thomas shook his head, and James could feel his heart thumping in his chest as the curls flew awry and his nose crinkled. _Oh no._ "Nah, it's fine, you don't have to do that for me."

"It's no trouble! I can even explain them to you." James knew he was overcompensating for sure, but he couldn't help himself.

"I couldn't ask that of you. The midterm is tomorrow." Thomas gave him a wry smile.

"It's alright, I can do it right now."

"You sure?"

"Sure, I have time."

It was going against his better judgement for sure, but he didn't protest as Thomas sat himself down at James' desk, making himself right at home. James gulped, standing behind him and rummaged through his stuff and pulling out his notes.

Thomas flipped through them. "These are really thorough," he said, sounding impressed.

"Oh these? I just jotted down things here and there." James waved him off, trying to smile nonchalantly, hoping Thomas couldn't pick up on the effort it took to sound relaxed. He wished he has Thomas' kind of confidence.

“ _James Madison_ ," he read aloud from James' notes.

"Mhm?"

Thomas paused to stare long and hard at him. "I feel like I've seen you around somewhere."

James shifted uncomfortably. "We have the same discussion section."

"Really? I didn't realize.”

James shrugged. He was used to that by now—on more than one occasion people had forgotten his existence until he spoke up.

"Was that you at the Gay Union meeting?"

"Oh... Yeah, that was me."

"I knew I'd seen you around somewhere! First Gay Union meeting you been to?"

"Yeah. A little overwhelming."

"How precious, first years are adorable. I know exactly what you mean. I'm from Virginia, and—"

"So am I!" He blurted out before realizing he had interrupted Thomas. "Oh, oh, I'm sorry..."

Thomas gave a lighthearted laugh. "It's fine. But yeah, I'm from the South, so college up north really is such a culture shock for me. How about you?"

"Oh." His mind went back to the letter he'd left unfinished. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Sure... Why?"

James could feel Thomas' eyes on him, watching him intently with... he couldn't tell if it was sympathy or curiosity, but James avoided his gaze. He stepped back from the desk, sitting on the edge of his bed and began wringing his hands—an old nervous habit of his.

"Because... I haven't told anyone back home about.. I don't know how my parents feel about me... being... Anyways, I only just figured it out myself."

"Oh."

"About two weeks ago."

"Oh... With who?" Thomas smirked, and there was a devilish glint in his eye.

"With?" James blinked, slow on the uptake.

Eyes wide with newfound interest, Thomas quickly moved to sit down on the bed beside James, still holding the notes in his hands. He clearly had no qualms about personal space as he got up close in James' face. He'd never seen him so animated. "Was it Hamilton?" he asked eagerly, "Please don't tell me it was Hamilton, because trust me you can do so much better."

It finally dawned on James what Thomas had meant, and he could feel the heat rising in his face. “Who? Oh! Alex? Oh God, no. Nonononono, of course not," he stammered. His heart was a lump in his throat.

"Then who was it? Who was your homosexual awakening?" asked Thomas, curiosity piqued.

"My?…"

_Dark curly hair, brown eyes, tight jeans with legs that go on for miles…_

He shook his head. "Nobody. Oh, God, nobody! I-I'm so..." His face was burning. "I can explain. I was in a bookstore."

"In a bookstore? Nice!" He nodded appreciatively.

"What? No! It's not like that. Two weeks ago I was downtown, I wandered into the bookstore. I was just browsing when I came across this book."

James rummaged through his drawers until he found the one, handing it to Thomas. He was pretty sure he'd never spoken so much in a single conversation in his life, but the words came spilling out and at this point he was unable to stop.

" _Word is Out_ ," said Thomas, reading the cover out loud.

"It's a book of interviews," said James as Thomas flipped through. "It seemed pretty interesting then I realized oh... These people are all..."

Thomas glanced up at him, waiting expectantly for him to finish. He didn't. "Gay?"

"Yes, gay. And so that's when I realized, 'oh my God, I'm...'"

"... Gay?"

He nodded, swallowing hard. "And, well. I didn't really know how to deal with that. I flipped out, shoved the book back on the shelf and left, and had an anxiety attack. But I came back the next day and bought the book... And then," as he rambled on, he got off the bed and pulled out a cardboard box full of books from underneath his bed and plopped them on the desk with a loud thud. "I came back the next day and bought all the other books in that section, too." James turned around to face Thomas again, but didn't look at him.

Thomas laughed. "You're funny."

James frowned, brow furrowed in confusion as he stared down at his hands again. "I'm being serious."

"I know. That's why it's funny."

He waited for the judging eyes, or for him to say something mocking, because oh my god, how lame is he, James Madison, realizing his newfound queerness not from an experience like a person, just like any normal person would (at least that's what he assumed from what Thomas had said) but from a book of all things. Of course Thomas was laughing at him.

But when he finally mustered up the courage to look at Thomas, he had a fond smile on his face. Sure there was a small smirk to his smile and a twinkle in his eye, but there was a surprising warmth that disarmed him and set him at ease.

"Oh," was all he could think so say. "Thanks?"

"Have you read them all, yet?"

He nodded again, taking _Word is Out_ from Thomas and hugging it close to his chest. "It's lame, I know, but—why are you staring at me like that?"

Thomas shrugged, standing up and adjusting his bag.

"Well, I read all the books, and then I made myself go to meeting at the Gay Union, and then... And then... Then it's now..." In his rambling he hadn't noticed Thomas approach him, and it wasn't until how that he realized their close proximity. "Hi." He smiled shyly, looking up at him. He'd never noticed how tall Thomas was. Under Thomas' gaze he felt even smaller than usual.

"Hello." The corner of his lip twitched upward, but for the most part James had never seen him so serious as he stared at him with heavily hooded eyes. He was hunched slightly over so that their faces were mere inches apart. "That's a powerful book," he said, voice unusually heavy.

"It is." James' mind was blank, all thoughts gone as Thomas' scent overwhelmed him. His cheeks hurt from smiling. His pulse was racing, but this time in a good way, there were butterflies in his stomach, he almost expected Thomas to lean in...

"Well, I should probably go," Thomas murmured. "We both need to study." He backed away, and James woke from his reverie.

"Right..." He hoped he didn't sound as disappointed as he felt.

"I'll see you around. Thanks for letting me see your notes." He made his way over to the door.

“Here.” James scrambled to grab his notes off the bed and compile them into one stack before hurriedly handing them to Thomas. "Keep them."

He grinned. "Hey, are you gonna be at the Union meeting tomorrow after the midterm?"

"Yes!" said James, a little too quickly. He corrected himself. "I mean, yes, I will be there."

"Cool. See you then, _James_.”

"Bye... Thomas.” James gave the most idiotic of small waves to him before he began wringing his hands once more, trying and failing to keep the wistful sigh out of his voice.

Thomas turned back to give him one last winning smile before finally turning to go, leaving James standing there in the middle of his room, dumbfounded, half in love, and absolutely screwed.

**Author's Note:**

> Also, I will forever maintain that Thomas is the one forever pining after James in the Jeffermads relationship, and that James is the more dominant one, but this is a college au so Jemmy will grow more into his confidence in time


End file.
